The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose three-tenths of a cent Sunday to $4.059, the 13th consecutive increase and 15th in 16 days.
The average price has increased 10.1 cents over the past 16 days, including nine-tenths of a cent on Saturday, to its highest amount since Oct. 23, 2019, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 4.5 cents higher than one week ago, 14.9 cents more than one month ago and $1.37 greater than one year ago.
The rising prices are the result of less supply because production has been reduced due to refinery maintenance and fuel demand is increasing, according to Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
“This is a typical pattern that we see during the spring months,” Spring said.
The average price has risen 88.3 cents since the start of the year, mainly because of a run of 82 increases in 84 days totaling 70.4 cents that ended March 30.
The large price increase from one year ago is the result of a significant decrease during the early stage of the coronavirus pandemic, when driving and demand dropped substantially because of stay-at-home orders intended to reduce the spread of the virus.
The average price is 1.4 cents more than it was on May 9, 2019.